Make-and-break switch for electric signals.



No. 739,056; PATENTED SEPT. 15, 1903. 0. B. CAMPBELL.

MAKE AND BREAK SWITCH FOR ELECTRIC SIGNALS.

APPLICATION FILED JAN. 20. 1903-. N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFF CE.

. Patented September 15, 1963.

CHARLES B. CAMPBELL, OF WATERLOO, IOWA, ASSIGNOR TO THE STORM RAlLWAY SIGNAL COMPANY, OF VVATERLOO, IOWA.

MAKE-AND-BREAK SWITCH FOR ELECTRIC SIGNALS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 739,056, dated September 15, 1903. Application filed January 20, 1903- Serial No. 139,751. (NomodeL) To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CHARLES E. CAMPBELL, a citizen of the United States of America, and a resident of Waterloo, Blackhawk county, Iowa, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Make-and-Break Switches for Electric Signals, of which the following is a specification.

My invention relates to improvements in to automatic signals for electric railways; and the object of my improvement is to provide a make-and-break switch to be operated by contact of a trolley-wheel from below and provided with such means for breaking an I 5 electrical circuit therethrough as will eifectually prevent accidental restablishing of the circuit. It is also an improvement upon the mechanism of the make-and-break switch shown and described in Patent No. 674,523,issued to Charles H. Storm May 21, 1901. The mechanism of the make-and -break switch shown, described, and separately claimed in this application is also shown and described in my application for a patent on an automatic signal for electric railways executed concurrently herewith.

The above-mentioned objects I attain by the means illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure 1 is a side elevation of my improved make-and-break switch. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same, and Fig. 3 is a detail view giving an end elevation of the swinging contactblock and pendant of said switch.

Similar characters of reference represent similar parts throughout the several views.

My make-and-break switch above referred to is borne upon a base-plate a, which is suspended above the trolley-wire. The baseplate a is provided with bearings 0", within which the swinging contact-block o is pivoted on studsp. A pendant q extends downwardly from the swing-block 0 and is slotted, that it may hang astride of the trolley-wire; The upper-surface of the swing-block o is flattened, and said block has two forked extensions containing antifriction-rollers m and 01, respectively. A vertically-movable weight g, sustained by the guides cl and e, which are slidable vertically within bearings in the anism of the signal.

frame 1) c, rests normally upon the upper flattened surface of the swing-block 0. A

cross-piecefconnects the upper ends of the guides (l and e. Spring-terminals s and t are clasped, respectively, to the insulatingblocks to and 'v by means of the bolted plates to and y. The free ends of these terminals are upwardly curved. A conductor 37 leads from the platew to the setting mechanism of the signal. Aconductor 38 leads from the plate y to the releasing mechanism of the signal. When a car passes under said switch going toward a track-section, its trolley-wheel contacts with and swings upward to anearly horizontal position, the slotted pendant q car rying over the swing-block 0, so that the roller is, which extends outwardly from its attached arm h, will move over' and contact with the upper surface of the spring-termi nal s. A current is thus established from the trolley-wire through the switch to the terminal .9, plate to, and conductor 37 to the setting mechanism of the signal. As the car proceeds over and passes from the track-section it passes under a second make-and-break switch of the same construction,-but reversed in position. Thecontact of, the trolley-wheel with the pendant q of the second switch then swings the block 0 intoa position where the outwardly-extending roller Zof its attached 8o arm i will pass over and contact with the uppersurface of the spring-terminal t. A current is thus established from the trolley-wire through the switch, the terminal 25, the plate y, and the conductor 38 to the releasing mech- The action of the switch when contact is effected between the roller k and the spring-terminal s is shown by the dotted lines in Fig. 1. When the trolley- Wheel has passed under the pendant q, the superincumbent weight g forces the block 0 to pass into its normal position, at which time the contact is broken between the roller is and the terminal 3 or between the roller Z and the terminal t, and in thisposition of the parts no accidental second contact can be offected as a result of the swinging back of the block. The making and breaking of the air cui-t is thus rendered invariable and certain.

The gravity of the movable block 9 is suffi- 10o cient to prevent displacements of the block 0 from position, except under the impelling stress of the moving trolley-wheel.

This improved make-and-break switch is suitable for incorporation into any system of trolley-wheel-actuated automatic signals for electric railways wherein the setting and releasing mechanism is operated by means of solenoids or electromagnets.

Having described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure byLetters Patent, is-

1. A make-and-break switch fortrolley-actuated signals, consisting of a frame, a swing ing contact-block pivoted in said frame and having its lower portion slotted so as to ride astride th e trolley-wire,contact-arms attached to said block, a movable weight attached to guides slidable in said frame, adapted to rest on said swing-block and keep its arms normally out of contact with the terminals, in-

sulated terminals adapted to be contacted by said arms respectively when said swing-block is moved by a trolley-wheel in either direction, and conductors leading from said ter minals to the signal, substantially as shown and described.

2. A make-and-break switch for trolley-actuated signals, consisting of a frame, aswinging contact-block pivoted in said frame having antifriction-rollers in its upper portion and having its lower portion slotted so as to ride astride the trolley-wire, contact-arms attached to said block, a movable weight attached to guides slidablein said frame,adapted to reston said swing-block and keep its arms normally out of contact with the terminals, terminals insulated from said frame and adapted to be contacted bysaid arms respectively when said swing-block is moved by a trolley-wheel in eitherdirection, and suitable conductors leading from the said terminals to the signal, substantially as shown and described.

3. A make-and-break switch for trolley-actuated signals,consisting of a frame provided with openings and having bracket-bearings, a swinging contactblock pivoted in said bracketbearings and having antifrictionrollers pivoted in its upper part and having its lower part formed into a slotted pendant adapted to ride astride of the trolley-wire, arms bearing antifriotion-rollers attached to said swing-block, avertically-movable weight attached to guides slidable in said frame and adapted to rest on said swing-block and keep its roller-bearing arms normally out of contact with the terminals, insulated terminals adapted to be contacted by the rollers on said contact-arms respectively when said swingblock is moved by a trolley-whee1 in either direction, and conductors leading from said terminals, substantially as shown and described.

Signed at \Vaterloo, Iowa, this 14th day of January, 1903.

CHARLES E. CAMPBELL. Witnesses:

(J. M. JENSEN, C. B. KENNEDY. 

